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1) No current improvements that I know of, and, there is still the issue of the ivory top keys that will scratch. I own one now and have had a full key bed replacement and it remains to be seen if the new keys will hold up. A quick scratch test on a high "A" key seems to indicate that there will be more wear on them, unfortunately. Only see a few online stores that are offering the V for $6,000, although I would be reluctant to take the free ground shipping as the piano box can be damaged due to its weight. Freight delivery, with all of the boxes on a pallet, is safer.

2) ?

3) From time to time you will find used V's, as there are several in the offering here, priced from lowest to highest:

1) No current improvements that I know of, and, there is still the issue of the ivory top keys that will scratch. I own one now and have had a full key bed replacement and it remains to be seen if the new keys will hold up. A quick scratch test on a high "A" key seems to indicate that there will be more wear on them, unfortunately. Only see a few online stores that are offering the V for $6,000, although I don't know if they are reliable as the piano will ship for free with UPS ground shipping and you risk damage to the piano. Here is one store, at the lower price:

Better check with the sellers directly to see if the "used" models have dinged up and dirty looking keys first, as this usually happens after it has been played on for a while.

Other than the above, be prepared to pay around $7,000 to buy it brand new, elsewhere.

Just a fair warning to anyone thinking of buying a V-piano off of e-bay. Take PV88's number A link and simply read the description.

"Bought this VPiano from Sweetwater Sound (brand new) less than 2 years ago for $8,000. I am 98 years old and cannot play any longer. It is in perfect condition, as it has never been moved and has barely been used."

I don't know if I'd believe that this guy was a 98 year old who paid $8,000 etc and is willing to sell it for half in two years. Buyer beware..

I would definitely purchase the V-piano from a reputable source as it is a purchase you want to have the manufacturers warranty with.

I have not had any issue with my ivory keytop and I play it daily. I do cut my nails short enough not to cause the flaking that PV88 has described causing with his nails. If you play piano and your finger nails hit the keys, I would be weary of any ROland Ivory keytops as all seem to not like fingernail hits or scratches.

The V-Piano did get the Evolution upgrades in its 2nd year, which are installed in all V-Pianos made after those upgrades became available. Users of the first versions (which had 24 presets only) without the upgrades can install them themselves from the website. (I wasn't able to, so Roland did it for me....).

Presumably, more upgrades will become available in the future. After all, the V-Piano Grand has two extra settings which aren't on the V-Piano, but according to Roland, they are specially designed for the Grand.

Maybe they will be available for V-Piano users in due course (presumably after undergoing a slight nomenclature modification.... ).

_________________________
"I don't play accurately - anyone can play accurately - but I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for Life."

I'm currently training for the World Freediving Championship.... 4 minutes and counting....

_________________________
"I don't play accurately - anyone can play accurately - but I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for Life."

"Bought this VPiano from Sweetwater Sound (brand new) less than 2 years ago for $8,000. I am 98 years old and cannot play any longer. It is in perfect condition, as it has never been moved and has barely been used."

Wondering as to why this person above spent $8,000 on a V, when the current highest price at Sweetwater is only $6,999?

"Bought this VPiano from Sweetwater Sound (brand new) less than 2 years ago for $8,000. I am 98 years old and cannot play any longer. It is in perfect condition, as it has never been moved and has barely been used."

Wondering as to why this person above spent $8,000 on a V, when the current highest price at Sweetwater is only $6,999?

Perhaps they meant the original list price was $7,999, instead?

Otherwise, he/she paid $1,000 more for the purchase.

In some cases they sell bundles with very good monitors etc that run about 8K. So, theoretically it's possible. Plus, when I shopped for V-Piano, shipping was not free even in some respected stores.

The V-Piano did get the Evolution upgrades in its 2nd year, which are installed in all V-Pianos made after those upgrades became available. Users of the first versions (which had 24 presets only) without the upgrades can install them themselves from the website. (I wasn't able to, so Roland did it for me....).

Presumably, more upgrades will become available in the future. After all, the V-Piano Grand has two extra settings which aren't on the V-Piano, but according to Roland, they are specially designed for the Grand.

Maybe they will be available for V-Piano users in due course (presumably after undergoing a slight nomenclature modification.... ).

To me, Roland raising the price of the vpiano without improving anything about it is a signal they aren't going anywhere with it..

Bech, i don't know how old you are, but i will give you an analogy. If you desperately regret not having bought a Delorean when they were on the market back in the 80's, then buy the vpiano. Cool at the time, and interesting now as a vintage collectible, delorean never gained critical mass in the marketplace. Sadly, the vpiano seems to be running the same course. Roland seems to have developed it, threw it out there, didn't know what to do with it, so they just decided to raise the price, build them more or less to order, and see what happens. that is not the proper evolution of a technology product. And i know i speak heresy here, but digital pianos are technological representations/facsimiles of a musical instrument, in my mind they are NOT a musical instrument. A convenient means to an end, and a fascinating application of microprocessor technology. I am fascinated with them, but only if they continually get better. The Vpiano actually did that, but this far into its life cycle, we should be hearing more about where it is heading- it is FAR from perfect.

I'd just be careful of how much you are willing to spend on digital technology that seems to be filling a small niche within a small niche. You can get left alone pretty quickly.

The danger is that the V-Piano will go the way of the RD-1000 and derivatives. SA synthesis was relegated to a dusty shelf in the '90s and was only taken down and dusted off for the V. If that technology is not to spawn a genuine advance in mass-market DP technology, it's a crying shame. Roland, please don't just shove it back on the shelf for the next twenty years: develop it, put it in $2,000 products (as we were all expecting a few years back). It's too remarkable a technology to be hidden away in a few studios and millionaires' living rooms.

_________________________"you don't need to have been a rabbit in order to become a veterinarian"

Thanks to all of you for your input. I'd hate to buy a V-Piano and a year or two later Roland or another manufacturer comes-out with something definitely superior in the same price range.

What I really need to do is get of my duff and into a showroom that has high quality acoustics and the V-Piano and try'em out, side by side. I think there's a good chance I then would not want anything other than an acoustic. Sounds have "nuances" and I think I would hear them.

Problem is as long as I'm in an apartment an acoustic won't do but I may soon be buying a house.

Thanks to all of you for your input. I'd hate to buy a V-Piano and a year or two later Roland or another manufacturer comes-out with something definitely superior in the same price range.

Bech

Although roland has done this before in this case I wouldn't worry much.V-piano is currently best piano simulation on the market so drastic changesAre unlikely unless yamaha will come up with a modeled avantgrand version.Anyway i think for a year or two you are safe

Thanks to all of you for your input. I'd hate to buy a V-Piano and a year or two later Roland or another manufacturer comes-out with something definitely superior in the same price range.

Bech

Although roland has done this before in this case I wouldn't worry much.V-piano is currently best piano simulation on the market so drastic changesAre unlikely unless yamaha will come up with a modeled avantgrand version.Anyway i think for a year or two you are safe

The punch is tasting good in this thread. It takes awhile after swallowing.

Thanks to all of you for your input. I'd hate to buy a V-Piano and a year or two later Roland or another manufacturer comes-out with something definitely superior in the same price range.

What I really need to do is get of my duff and into a showroom that has high quality acoustics and the V-Piano and try'em out, side by side. I think there's a good chance I then would not want anything other than an acoustic. Sounds have "nuances" and I think I would hear them.

Problem is as long as I'm in an apartment an acoustic won't do but I may soon be buying a house.

Thanks to all of you for your input. I'd hate to buy a V-Piano and a year or two later Roland or another manufacturer comes-out with something definitely superior in the same price range.

What I really need to do is get of my duff and into a showroom that has high quality acoustics and the V-Piano and try'em out, side by side. I think there's a good chance I then would not want anything other than an acoustic. Sounds have "nuances" and I think I would hear them.

Problem is as long as I'm in an apartment an acoustic won't do but I may soon be buying a house.

Bech

If year or two later there's a better alternative to V-Piano, great.

But there may be none.

my sentiments too. The platform is set up to upgrade fairly easily- mainly just software downloads from roland. but there hasn't been a software update in 2 years. that is what amazes me. just do something, anything that makes users believe you are nurturing the concept/technology. The hardware is fine- obviously a lighter, more portable version would be interesting in the future, but sell the marketplace on the constant refinement of the software first and then innovate the physical instrument.

V-Piano's upgrade was marketing. Nothing to do with the musical aspect of V-Piano.

That's not true. The upgrade did offer improvement, just not enough for a V-Piano owner like myself.

i'd beg to differ on that one. all they did was pre-package some tweaks to the parameters into 4 settings. Bennevis has done far more for the advancement of the vpiano than Roland has.

I concur and 100% agree with this point. Roland should hire bennevis and have him help in creating the next Evolution part 2 upgrade that the V-piano deserves. At the very least come out with the extra sounds taken from the V-piano Grand as part of Rolands way to say they are still supporting their amazing product.

When you really think about it, there have been very little development in digital emulations of various synths and keyboards these last 10+ years. V-Piano is certainly an exception, but even V-Piano is getting a bit long in the tooth now. As far as analog synth and keyboard emulations the industry is pretty much at a stand still. Creamware made some very good (still digital sounding though) synth emulations 10+ years ago, and those are still the best on the market IMO. The newest hammond organ clones still sound thinner than the real thing, and digital overdrive is still very nasty and/or flat sounding on higher settings (Nord C1/C2 for instance).Hmm, you would think with the development of DSP and CPU chips that sound quality would conitinue to improve, obviously not...

I mean listen to progrock and fusion jazz albums for the 70s. I sooo much more prefer that sound to todays fake, digital sounds. V-Piano is a very good digital simulation, but it's still a weak in certain areas - as all other digital emulations today are. Nothing can beat the sound of a real piano, hammond organ, modular synth etc..

Yes. The analogue art form reached full maturity in the 70s. A well recorded piece of music from the 70s cannot be equalled for sonic clarity, warmth or dynamics - the three could go hand-in-hand back then.

Yes. The analogue art form reached full maturity in the 70s. A well recorded piece of music from the 70s cannot be equalled for sonic clarity, warmth or dynamics - the three could go hand-in-hand back then.

It seems we are in full agreement! Well, convenience has won over sound quality. Even many of todays analog synths sound inferior to the 70s models, like MiniMoog Voyager which lacks the richness and power in sound that the original Mini-Moogs offered, though we got a decent tradeoff with the added tuning stability.Well, I guess I'm still very happy with my digital piano, but some day I will have a grand piano in my living room.